An Unusual Case of Recurrent Raised Intracranial Pressure Headache

Raised intracranial pressure (ICP) can be due to varied etiology. Differentiating among these various etiologies is crucial in making appropriate therapeutic decisions. A patient with a known past history of the primary or secondary headache of any etiology, when presenting with new onset severe headache, needs to be evaluated with imaging to rule out an alternative diagnosis.

Here, we describe the case details of a young lady who presented with recurrent raised ICP headaches due to three different etiologies. At her third visit, isolated intracranial hypertension (IH) was the only manifestation of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), which could have been missed if a repeat magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain and venogram were not done.

Our case highlights the importance of having a high degree of suspicion for CVST in the clinical setting of raised ICP headache in view of its crucial therapeutic implications.